"Finally, a campaign where my socklessness will be appreciated": Hogan Gidley's New Gig

"No joke, I've got my new GQ and my Garden and Gun in my lap right now, just a little light reading on my way up" says Hogan Gidley, the dandified southern conservative who served as Rick Santorum's spokesman. On Tuesday morning, he's making the four hour drive from DC to Santorum strategist John Brabender's Pittsburgh office. Since the campaign ended, Hogan is still with Brabender Cox, but he's no longer Santorum's spokesman. Just a few days ago, Hogan announced he would be joining former Rep. Dave Weldon, who at the last minute inserted himself into the clusterfuck of a Florida Republican primary to beat Democratic Senator Bill Nelson.

Life after the Santorum's improbable bid for the presidency is a bit of a mixed bag. "It's a lot better because you don't have to wake up at 4 am and read emails, and you don't get 500 emails a day that require attention," he says. "And that's nice, but it's different because you have to shift your focus from paying attention to national media and a broader range of issues, to your candidate's position."

"Nowadays when you go on TV, I'm usually articulating my opinion on these issues and not Rick's," he says. "That's a different role you have to slide into and understand. Instead of research on Rick, I'm doing it for myself."

Gidley's new client, Weldon, is a longshot. He's entering a weak field late, and the leading, gaffe-prone candidate Connie Mackwho's been hit for everything from a youthful bar brawl to calling Paul Ryan's budget proposal a "joke" to bracketing Newt Gingirch on behalf of the Romney campaign in the Florida primaryalready has about a million dollars on hand.

But Hogan is used to working for the underdog. Plus, he says, of working in Florida, "It's finally a campaign where my socklessness will be appreciated and probably the norm."